Samsung KS8000 vs Vizio P (65)?

I've been debating primarily between these two displays ever since my Samsung F8500 was ruined by an indoor leak in my house a little over a month ago. I have about $2000 to spend, and the KS8000 series is on sale but only through the end of today, which is kind of forcing my hand a little in terms of making a decision.

I'm leaning towards the Vizio because it has FALD as well as concerns about the KS8000's screen uniformity issues. Plus I tend to watch TV in a darker environment anyway, so reflections and lower brightness than the Samsung shouldn't be an issue.

I'm a little concerned about its upscaling because it appears to be subpar for handling content lower than 1080p, and I tend to watch quite a bit of broadcast TV. I was even debating getting the 60" KS8000 over the 65" version for that same reason (with a seating distance of 7-7.5 feet), whereas Vizio doesn't make a 60". I would use it for quite a bit of movies and games though, but very little sports.

The last thing is I really haven't been able to check out the Vizio in person. I've only been able to find the P series on display at Best Buy, and they have such bright lighting surrounding their Vizio section that the reflections just overwhelm the displays. I know store displays are generally terrible for judging displays to begin with, but it kind of rules out the "go see it for yourself" response.

Disclaimer: I just got my KS8000 this week and didn't see either in person prior to buying.

These were the two TVs I was looking at buying and the rtings review swayed me toward the KS8000 as I typically watch a wide variety of media (from 480p-4k), game, and our living room has some to a lot of light. The 65" also went on sale for $1700 shipped/no tax so I jumped on that. So far I've been impressed with the KS8000. There are the occasional times where you can see the light banding from the edge lighting (like chromecasting Google play music), but in most cases (probably 95%+) it's not noticeable. Blacks can get very black. Surprisingly so I'd say. If your media source is good the colors and detail are brilliant. The backlight can get very bright which helps a lot with reflections. Low res videos still look ok given the size and upscaling. 1080p material looks pretty good. Edges are slightly softer than our 48" 1080p TV that we replaced but overall a great image. I like the interface and remote. I've heard a lot of negative comments about the vizios tablet remote being limited in its capabilities. Setting the KS8000 up was a breeze with two people, maybe two minutes tops from taking it out of the box to having it up on the TV stand. I love the stands and how they just slide into the TV. No tools needed but it still feels solid and I have no worries about stability. If you can get the KS for cheaper than the P I'd go for it.

P advantages: 120hz at 1080p, very low input lag, and FALD. If you watch OTA broadcast be aware it has no tuner. Also lacks true 444. There are screen uniformity issues with the P series as well... There is no such thing as a panel without uniformity issues these days it seems.

If it were between these two I would pick the Sammy personally unless local dimming is a big deal. I've never owned anything other than emissive so I don't know how big a deal good edge lit vs FALD is.

Personally, while I've owned a Vizio, the fit and finish, quality of the build of the Samsung is superior to anything on the market.

4:4:4 is also mandatory.

The Vizio has the better PQ, but no 4:4:4 for optimal PC monitor usage. Let's hope they get their shit straight next year, because they make the best midrange TVs in the US.

illram said:

P advantages: 120hz at 1080p, very low input lag, and FALD. If you watch OTA broadcast be aware it has no tuner. Also lacks true 444. There are screen uniformity issues with the P series as well... There is no such thing as a panel without uniformity issues these days it seems.

If it were between these two I would pick the Sammy personally unless local dimming is a big deal. I've never owned anything other than emissive so I don't know how big a deal good edge lit vs FALD is.

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Oh yeah, I know, but from all the reading I did I got the impression the Samsung sounded significantly worse off in terms of screen uniformity issues. But I can't imagine either of them will come anywhere near either of the plasmas I had.

Don't need a tuner and never had a reason to hook a computer up, but honestly, I went ahead and ordered the 60" KS8000 anyway. 60" is probably a better size for me and saves $500. Plus, since I can't take delivery for a few weeks anyway, I have some time to change my mind/look out for some Labor Day sales.

realworld said:

The Vizio has the better PQ, but no 4:4:4 for optimal PC monitor usage. Let's hope they get their shit straight next year, because they make the best midrange TVs in the US.

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QFT. I've dodged TV's in favor of monitors for as long as I can remember. After buying a large monitor and receiving two damaged ones, I finally gave up and turned to TV's. I knew in advance of issues trying to use a TV as monitor hence whu I dodged it all this time. My disappointment with failing to get a undamaged monitor was slowly turning into joy as I read about the 65" monitor. Impressively low input lag, great image quality test results, the FALD that got it's response time improved compared to 2015 models... Man, I was salivating as I was digesting the stats and hunting down reviews. The P series was a dream come true, at twice the original budget but I would have bought it instantly if it weren't for chroma. It's like someone at the design table said "lets make a TV that serves as an excellent monitor and then ruin it in a frustrating way, omit some basic compliance".
I "settled" for a KS8000 because I've waiting for years to upgrade to 4K and it has been more than two months since I first tried to upgrade to 4K. Sorry for the rant, wasn't directed at you or anyone else in particular, your post reminded me how frustrating it was all over again.